[Guide] How to Overclock a GPU

If you are a PC gamer or a hardware enthusiast, it is safe to say that you are familiar with the term ‘overclocking’, commonly known as OC’ing. For those who don’t know; overclocking means altering the factory set speed of your computer. Overclocking can be done on RAMs, processors and GPUs. This is mainly done to squeeze more power out of your hardware while people also do it to break records set by other hardware enthusiasts.

Today we are thoroughly going to discuss how you can overclock your GPU to gain extra performance. Do keep in mind that if your GPU is working fine and giving you the exact performance you are supposed to get, don’t overclock your GPU. Despite the perks and the fancy tone to it, overclocking has the potential to damage your computer hardware and render it useless most of the times.

So what do you have to keep in mind before you start your overclocking journey? Well, for starters; make sure you know what overclocking is and you are properly geared for it. Apart from overclocking, there is another term called ‘overvolting’, we are going to discuss that later in the article. So without wasting any time; let’s get down to business and learn how to overclock a GPU.

Getting Ready

First of all, you are going to need an overclocking software if you are planning to overclock your GPU. We suggest MSI Afterburner. The software is capable of perfectly overclocking your GPU. Not only that, you can even check your GPUs fan speed as well as the temperature. Other tools that are suggested include MSI Kombustor, this is tool is based on Furmark and can be used to see whether or not the overclock you did is stable. Despite having several overclocking softwares available, the reason we are suggesting MSI Afterburner is because it supports both AMD and Nvidia GPUs which is just the thing we need.

Cranking Things Up

Now for the moment of truth, once everything is set up, we are going to overclock the grpaphics card and see what happens. To do so, open the MSI Afterburner and crank up the ‘Power Limit’ slider to maximu. In case you are wondering what it is; this slider denotes how much power you can squeeze out of your graphics card so there isn’t really much to worry about. Next step is to take the ‘Core Clock’ slider and bump it up by 30 megahertz. Once you are done, run the test through MSI Kombustor and wait for a while. Make sure you have kept your eyes open for any visual artifacts, anomalies or colourful lines on screen. If the benchmark ends without any of these issues, it means that the overclocking you achieved was stable. However, if it doesn’t, simply take the ‘Core Clock’ slider a bit down and try again. Getting the perfect, stable OC is entirely based on trial and error.

Next up is the ‘Memory Clock’ slider. Once you have achieved the best OC, it’s time to crank up the memory clock slider. Though it won’t directly effect the performance of games, it proves to be quite useful when it comes to running games at a higher resolution. The process of finding the best memory clock frequency is exactly as the process of finding the core clock.

Is It Stable?

Once you have achieved the perfect core and memory clock, save the settings and run the benchmark for the final time to see if there are any anomalies. If your overclock is effective, you’ll see an increased frame rate as well as a higher score in benchmarks. To be on the safe side, let the test running for some time to make sure everything is running perfectly fine.

Dark Side of the Moon Overclocking

If you are not satisfied with the overclocking results you did earlier, there is one more way to crank up the speed even higher. This includes upping the voltage of your GPU. If it sounds scary to you; believe us, it is. Overvoltage is available in almost all the high end cards though you’d have to go through some settings to get access to the settings. Once you have done it, it is suggested to increase the voltage by 10mV and check the card’s performance for any anomalies that were stated previously. Do keep in mind that even if you overvolt your GPU while staying in limitations, it still poses a threat. Overvolting may result in shorter lifespan, instability or other damages such as increased ideal and load temperatures. We would always suggest to leave the voltage on stock and overclock within limits.

POPULAR CATEGORY

TechJeep is a technological and gaming website that started back in 2013. TechJeep is known for covering all the happenings in the gaming and technological world we are dedicated to provide you the latest updates. The team behind TechJeep has a combined experience of over 5 years and they are taking things to the next level.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT

Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.